TechBloggin.com

Filed under: Gaming

It wasn’t any secret that the Xbox 360 was getting a price cut in the next week or so, and now it’s official — Major Nelson just confirmed that as of September 5th, the Arcade will be $199, the Pro will be $299, and the Elite will be $399. No motion controller, goofy Live starter pack, or tweaked controller to be found, but we’re not arguing with price cuts.

Update: Here’s the Microsoft press release.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Nilay Patel

written by

Filed under: Gaming

We’re not exactly sure what kind of behind-the-scenes relationship Target has with Microsoft, but this marks the third time by our count in which it has revealed something pretty important about the Xbox 360 before Redmond told anyone else (on the record, that is). Whatever the case, the Xbox 360 Pro is being let go at Target’s brick-and-mortar locations (read: not online, so you’ll actually have to slip some shorts on and leave the basement) for $299.99. Guess that confirms the US price drop, huh?

[Thanks, Ryan]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Darren Murph

written by

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Look, don’t act like you didn’t know this was coming. Microsoft has started selling its Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for the ultra-bargain price of $49.99. So now’s your chance to get one super-duper cheap. Or you could just throw that $50 into the garbage… same thing.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Joshua Topolsky

written by

Filed under: Gaming

While all those juicy Canadian money jokes are sadly behind us, the dropping US dollar does have one nice side effect, at least for those pesky squatters north of the border. That’s right, Canadians are finally getting an Xbox 360 pricing scheme on par with us Americans, with the 360 Pro dropping from $399 to $349, the Elite dropping from $499 to $449, and the Arcade slouching from $299 down to $279. If it weren’t for the fact that this price drop is long overdue and the exchange rate still has ‘em forking over $5 extra, we’d almost be jealous of those hosers up north.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Paul Miller

written by

Filed under: Home Entertainment

According to a report from Variety today, the Jobster and crew aren’t stopping at iPhone price cuts. If you believe what the entertainment rag has to say about iTunes, the word on the street is that Apple is hoping to halve the cost of TV shows, dropping the $1.99 price to just $.99. Variety claims three separate sources have indicated that the Cupertino juggernaut has gone as far as telling networks and studios about the price drop, and that the plan was actually the cause of NBC’s departure from the music / TV / movie download service. Apparently — as with the Peacock network — other providers are balking at the change, particularly when it comes to DVD boxed sets, as $.99 per-episode downloads could impact sales that many studios rely on. The paper goes on to claim that studios are interested in the idea of tiered pricing for older and newer shows (offering something like The Brady Bunch at a lower price than last week’s episode of Lost), though Apple is resistant to the concept. Still, the report is largely hearsay at this point, so until we get some more solid facts, we’re treating this as educated speculation.

[Thanks, Xavier]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Joshua Topolsky

written by

Filed under: Portable Audio

Microsoft is quite clear on the Zune Insider blog that this price drop has absolutely no correlation to a certain event taking place tomorrow, but there’s still a whole heaping helping of irony that the Zune is getting a price slash on the very day Apple is ostensibly outing brand new iPods. As of tomorrow you can pick up a brand new Zune anywhere you choose for a mere $199. That is, of course, if you can’t manage to score one for a whole lot cheaper elsewhere.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Paul Miller

written by

Filed under: Gaming

It appears the Xbox 360 rumor mill is hard-partying once again, this time over the fairly sketchy information that in addition to the European price cut we mentioned earlier, the game system may be receiving a “changing of the guard” on the SKU front, with the dismissal of the Core system, and the inclusion of a new “Arcade” package. Word on Box Street is that Microsoft is about to upend the low-impact Core units, add an HDMI port, throw five free XBLA games in the mix, slap on a wireless controller, and put a new line of text somewhere on the box. Otherwise the system will remain the same — AKA no hard drive, white finish, and a target of constant ridicule by your friends, and will be made available for €279 (or about $376). The whole thing makes you wonder if this could have something to do with that discontinued SKU rumor we keep hearing about in the US. Can’t wait to find out? Join the club.

[Via Joystiq]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Joshua Topolsky

written by

Filed under: Gaming

And so we’ve come full circle. After accurately predicting that $100 PS3 price drop a few weeks back, Circuit City is back in the rumor game with a flyer that seems to confirm the $50 price cut for the Xbox 360, and even tosses in some info on price breaks for the Elite and Core systems. According to the flyer, on August 12th the 360 Premium will dip to $350, and include a copy of Rockstar’s “Table Tennis,” while the Elite will raid your wallet for $450 — a $30 reduction — and include zero free games. Finally, the Xbox 360 Core will get $20 lopped off, and sell for $280, which might be the end of the road for the stripped down console once stock runs out.

[Thanks, Sam]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: Paul Miller

written by